


Unlikely (On Hiatus)

by PurpleColaTrickster



Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death, Childhood Trauma, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Dynamics, Father Figures, Fluff and Angst, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, Mentions of Infertility, On Hiatus, Parenthood, we need more Persephone and Hades as parents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-26
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:09:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22910764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurpleColaTrickster/pseuds/PurpleColaTrickster
Summary: When looking at the boy, most would just see a terrifying gorgon with hideous snake hair, but all Persephone saw was strangely familiar scared yellow eyes that begged for someone, anyone to dry the tears that were leaking onto his cherubic face then she realized she had seen that same look in the eyes of a dead mother with serpent hair longing and hoping for the safety of her child.The basic idea is what if Medusa had a son before she died and one day he wandered into the Underworld.
Relationships: Hades/Persephone, medusa/original male character
Comments: 6
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a drawing of Medusa's son, I named him Damon. Please enjoy
> 
> https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-U4SC3fGccjrbdxhmdV7oCXEli2gGXK

"I saw it around here, I swear!"

 _'No you didn't. Just turn around and go away!_ '

"Are you sure? This village doesn't usually see many monsters."

_'I'm…..I'm not-'_

"Of course I'm sure, i-it had serpents all over its head, I heard those kinds of creatures have the ability to turn a man into stone the second they lay their beastly eyes on him. I was lucky it had turned its back on me and I had enough time to get away."

_'I let you get away'_

"Pft, I'm sure all you saw were a couple of garden snakes and was too much of a coward to kill them yourself so you created this fable so I'd have to do the dirty wor-"

"Hissssssssssssss!"

_'Shut up you stupid idiots, they're gonna see us!'_

"Ah! There, you hear that?! I told you we have a-a m-monster on the loose! In our very woods, we'll all be-"

"Be quiet you,...I think whatever it is, it's around these bushes."

' _No no no no no, go away I'm not here I'M NOT HERE!'_

"I think I see where the little pests are, yeah they're right over her-..."

"Euandros, what were you about to sa- *Gasp* Euandros! No no no no you can't be- AHH YOU! I-I... g-get away you m-murdering m-monst-..."

_'.....I.....I-I didn't mean it! It was an accident, I-It's not my fault! You should have stayed away….'_

"Hssssssss"

There were times when the young gorgon boy who had just unintentionally murdered two men by turning them into stone silhouettes of their former selves, wanted nothing more than to rip his 'hair' out by every last snake, because even if it would be painful at least he wouldn't have to hear the loud hissing of a thousand companions he never asked for, anymore.

\----------------------

"Hssssssss"

"I know, I know. Don't you think I'm tired too."

The rain refused to stop. It had been coming down for so long, Damon began to believe that it was starting to burn holes in his pale skin. Times like this he wished he had been born with a thick hide of scales that covered more than just his, 'hair'.

Apart from the burning cold water that was chilling him to the bone, the gorgon boy also wished he had been born without a stomach. The hunger pains were beginning to really hurt now, he needed something edible soon, but first he needed to get out of the rain.

The gorgon boy decided he needed to risk raising his head up, in order to find shelter. If there were any people or animals nearby, well that would be their own fault.

Slowly moving his head from his hunched over position, Damon carefully looked over his surroundings. Thankfully there were only plants near him, the only living things that remained unaffected from his gaze. Damon let out a short breath of relief. His luck improved even more, when he saw a cave near by.

"Yes!"

"Hsssssss"

The gorgon boy sprinted towards the entrance of the cave. Once inside Damon shook his head and body furiously in order to rid himself of the all the water he had been soaked by.

Once the act had been performed he all but threw himself onto the ground in pure exhaustion. For once, his serpents were as tired as him, and stopped their constant hissing as they fell asleep right along with him.

\---------------------

He shouldn't have been surprised to see her side of the bed empty.

When Persephone hadn't followed him to their chambers last night, Hades knew she wouldn't be joining him at all. She was still probably out by the garden (which was a very nice word for it). The ruler of the underworld would not be surprised to find her sitting on that lone stone bench in the center of it, as she was the night before.

At that moment Hades wanted nothing more than to run to her side and speak with her, offer her any comfort he could, however…..last night his wife had seemed as if she would rather be thrown into Tarturas than speak with him. While Hades did not get his reputation of unyielding sternness in the face of ruling his kingdom for nothing, when it came to Persephone, he found himself more often than not bending to her every whim as if he were a mere servant. If she did not wish to speak to him for now, he would not push her on it.

Once Hades rose from the empty bed, and dressed himself in his usual grey and black robes, he began to make his way down the narrow hallway to attend to his routine ruling duties. As he passed through the endless corridors of his castle, he paused for just a second to see that his wife had in fact still been sitting in the 'garden'. She sat as straight and motionless as the stone bench beneath her. Hades spared her a look of longing, before reminding himself, that she wanted to be alone and it was not within his right to force her to do as he pleased.

However, it was within his right as king of the Underworld to order the palace's servants to watch over her while he was away.

\-----------------------

"Hssssssssss"

Damon's eyes shot open when he was awakened by his serpent hair. As the gorgon boy yawned and stretched his small body he noticed the rain had begun to drizzle out.

'Now's a good time to find food.' He thought to himself as he began to stand. As Damon surveyed his surroundings to see if there was perhaps something edible within his near vicinity, he noticed out the corner of his eye a lush white and purple flower growing peculiarly enough at the back at the cave. Before the gorgon boy could question how it was possible that such beautiful vegetation was alive and well in a such a dark dreary cave, he was suddenly hit with the intoxicating smell that emminanted from the plant

'It smells like honey.' The boy thought to himself as he crept closer and closer towards it. Reaching out a small grubby hand the boy quickly snatched the plant from its home before bringing it close to his face.

The wonderful scent was even more alluring now that he was so much closer to it, ignoring the cries of his ' ' 'hair' that wanted something with more,...flesh, Damon stuffed the flower whole into his mouth.

It was... amazing! He had never tasted anything more sweet! The boy's eyes dazzled with pure joy as he savored the delicious taste.

All too soon though it was gone and the flower was being digested by his stomach. However before Damon could even begin reminisce the sweet flower, he saw that just behind the now flowerless stem was a long trail of vegetation baring the exact same resemblance to the one he had just consumed. The trail was so long that Damon could not see the end of it. With a grin wide enough to frighten a small babe, the gorgon boy began to pick the next flower in line before popping it into his mouth and then repeating the same process with the next one, and the next one, and the next one after that, and the next one after that,...

\-----------------------

Damon was not sure how long he spent following the trail of flowers and eating them one after the other, all ignoring the whining of his serpent companions who were beginning to feel chilly from the cold draft of the cave as the boy went deeper and deeper into it. At one point he couldn't see the entrance anymore, but Damon paid that little mind for it wasn't as if he could get lost, he had a trail of stems he could follow back when need be.

The gorgon boy continued his journey of eating every flower insight for quite some time, until finally he reached the end of the trail.

There infront of him stood the last flower in his path, behind it stood a giant entrance like opening that was completely pitch black beyond it. Damon felt disappointed because the flowers hadn't nearly filled him up yet and they were just so addicting. He was sad to see he only had one left.

Letting out an unhappy sigh, the snake haired boy bent down the pick it. As he tore the flower from its stem and brought it close to his mouth the boy could not help ,but stare at it sadly.

However before the boy could plunge it into his mouth, and head back out of the cave much to his snakes' relief, he suddenly heard a loud thump on the other side opening. Arching a curious brow, the gorgon boy momentarily forgot about his meal and got to his feet. As he edged closer towards the large hole, his snakes' suddenly became very frantic and we're wiggling and screeching all over the place.

Used to their constant noise though, Damon simply hushed them as he pushed himself even closer towards the opening.

'Maybe there's more flowers on the other side.' He theorized to himself.  
Swallowing any fear he might have had, Damon acted on impulse as so many children do, and leapt through the giant black entrance without a second thought.

Once he was through however Damon had never regretted anything more in his short life, because standing right in front of him was a ginormous three headed hound that looked very unhappy to see him


	2. Chapter 2

When Damon first saw the ghastly sight of the three headed beast before him all he could feel was fear ,but then utter confusion flooded in, as he began to intently wonder, how and why this creature was not a stone statue by now. It was staring right at him!

The beast's breath smelled foul, and with three heads surrounding him it was near impossible for Damon to escape the stench. The giant hound also had frightfully blood red eyes that promised to devour anyone it saw as a threat. Staring into the red voids Damon began to imagine how it would feel

As the its middle head, (the largest out of its three and presumably the leader) began to lean down towards him, Damon couldn't help ,but try to take several steps back, in the vain hope that maybe just maybe if he times it just right he could escape.

That hope however was dashed when he suddenly felt his back press against one of the beast's giant paw that was now blocking the opening he had come through.

His snakes were surprisingly quiet and unmoving during this ordeal, almost as if they were saying "We told you so."

Damon felt his whole body trembling as the dog leaned forward once more, a low growl eminating from the back of its monstrously large neck.  
The boy cowered whilst sqeeuzing his eyes shut, and clenching the flower in his raised arms so tight he was surprised the stem hadn't broken yet, then suddenly the dog pushed its nose that was larger than the cave's entrance right up against the gorgon boy and took a quick whiff, (maybe to make sure Damon hadn't gone bad before he ate him). Then something happened that likely even a prophet of the gods could not expect. The fierce three headed hound slowly backed away from Damon, with surprising gentleness.

When the boy no longer felt the giant wall of fur that he had had his back pressed up against a moment ago, he stumbled slightly before tumbling to the ground with a loud yelp.

After Damon quickly picked himself up, he looked up to see the dog staring at him, conflictingly?

It seemed as if there was an inner debate going on between the three heads of the large hound. The far left one was testing at him intently as if he were a snack it had been denied, while the far right one seemed as if it considered him to be an old friend he wanted nothing more than to play with. However the middle one didn't even pay the gorgon boy a second glance and seemed as if it were staring off into nothing.

The snakes on Damon's head became active again and began hissing loudly and to each other as if they were having a conversation of their own. Meanwhile all the gorgon child could think about was if he could make it out the cave opening before the dog could catch him.

'It's definitely too big to follow me through maybe if I-'

"Ahhhh" Damon was suddenly interupted from his thoughts when he heard the sound of screaming and it took all of two seconds for him to realize it was his own. For while, he had been thinking, the middle head of the hound had apparently come to the conclusion that the best course of action to take would be to snatch the tip of Damon's worn shirt in between its jaws and lift the boy up into the air so he was dangling like a carrot on a rope.

"No! Put me down!" Damon shouted at the beast. However the hound paid him little mind as it began to walk towards the continued pitch blackness of the other side of the cave.

Damon was not sure how fast his heart was beating, all he knew was that it felt as if it would pound right out of his pale chest at any moment. Meanwhile his snakes were going hay wire and though they attempted valiantly at biting the middle head's nose with their long fangs, so that it may drop Damon, the center head offered no more than a small glance down at its cargo.

The hound carried him a couple feet before it lowered the snake haired boy to the ground once more. However before Damon could even think about scurrying away as fast as he could, he was suddenly being given a firm nudge by the dog's middle head towards a massive pit in the ground that was so large he could not see the end of it, there was only pure darkness.

Eyes going wide with fear and adrenaline, Damon pushed as hard as his tiny body would allow against the middle head's muzzle, whilst dragging his feet into the Rocky ground so fiercely it burned. Very small tears of pain began to bubble to the surface as Damon tried with all his might not to be pushed into the deep black hole, most likely never to see the light of day again. He even tried to beg. "P-please, st-top" was all he could whisper through the strain of trying to fight the immense force that wanted him to fall.

The dog didn't seem to care though or if it did it didn't show it because within the next second, it gave up on trying to gently nudge him and with one solid harsh shove, pushed him all the way over the edge and sent him plummeting straight down the massive pit..

Damon screamed to the top of his lungs as he flailed helplessly through the air. The last image he saw before he was submerged in total darkness was the image of three pairs of glowing red eyes piercing down at him in complete and utter apathy.

Unlikely

Tisiphone was less than pleased when Hades had requested that she watch over Persephone as she continued to mope in that wasteland of a garden Hades had created for her centuries ago. The fury was even less joyful that her sisters were out in the mortal world going about duty as usual. Tisiphone was so behind on her work that she would no doubt soon be drowning in countless murder victims to avenge for near all eternity. Every second there was always someone new being taken from the mortal world against their will and it was her righteous duty to avenge them so that their small pitiful lives were not ended in complete vain and Tisiphone couldn't fall behind, even slightly or her work load would pile up faster than Hermes's constant trips to Olympus.

Still her king had given her an order and she would foolish to refuse it. So despite the feeling of her wings being cramped up as she hid behind one of the many beautifully cut statues that Hades had decorated the rotten garden with in an effort to disguise its ugliness, Tisiphone remained resigned to her job.

It wasn't as if there was that much to watch over anyway, Persephone still hadn't moved more than an inch from her spot on that lone stone bench that over looked the desolate garden. The Spring goddess just kept staring down at different spots of the lifeless ground. Due to her back being turned, the fury couldn't even witness her expressions.

'I wonder what the brat could be upset about now. Perhaps she's simply grown weary of-'

Tisiphone was suddenly torn from her thoughts when she noticed, the spring goddess move her hand to rest on her stomach, and then everything made sense. Now, one might be wondering how such an inconsequential movement could possibly offer so much insight to the fury, and the answer is simple. Tisiphone was perceptive, incredibly so and she had to be, when judging souls who requested her help in avenging their murder to make sure they lived an honorable life that deserved avenging, and in serving her king and attending to his every whim.

Armed with this incredible talent Tisiphone had found it amazingly easy to read someone as openly simple as Persephone, from even the twitch of her pinky and the gesture she had just displayed was more than enough, for the fury to put it all together.

When the realization of what was putting the spring goddess through so much torment came to her, Tisiphone was suddenly overwhelmed with the urgent need to approach the queen of the Underworld, and without the same oversight and analysis of Persephone's mental state that Hades possessed she did.

The second she emerged from behind the stone statue, the sitting goddess stiffened.

'So she knew I was there.'

After a beat of silence the spring goddess spoke up. "Hello Tisiphone is there anything I may assist you with?"

The hoarseness in her voice was very visible. It made any edge to the fury's reply.

"Oh you poor child..." As she trailed off Tisiphone walked right up to Persephone and sit down next to her. As she expected silent tears were streaming down the spring goddess' face as she clenched the fabric of her dress that was covering her stomach.

"I'm a foolish wench." Persephone angrily whispered, as her tears refusing to stop streaming. "I knew it wouldn't work, not even a single patch of soil can allow one flower to bloom here, how could I be stupid enough to believe that my womb would be any different!" She exclaimed her voice still barely above a murmur. Her teeth began to clench in the righteous rage she had for herself.

"Nothing is set in stone Persephone. You don't kno-"

"I do know. Yesterday, early in the morning, I truly believed this time it worked, that I had tried hard enough this time and...that...maybe...,but I wanted to be sure before I told Hades, it was supposed to be a wonderful surprise, so I went searching in a line of souls who were about to be judged, to see if I could find a prophet. I did, and he told me I wasn't nor would I ever be with child in this place. "

"He could have been lying you know."

"He was about to have his immortal soul judged and bared why would he dare risk his fate by lying to the queen of the underworld."

"..."

"I know you think me being childish and you're right. It's just that I'm so afraid to admit my idiocy to my husband, that I can't find the strength to even stand up from this bench."

It was at this point, Tisiphone was at a loss for words and decided that if she couldn't offer any words of comfort, then an arm slung around the spring goddess's small shoulders would have to do. If there was anyone, Tisiphone felt the most sympathy for, it was mothers who had been robbed of their children, even if those children never even got to exist.

As soon as the fury's arm made contact with her, Persephone lost it and broke down into heaving sobs.

Unlikely

"HISSSSSSS!"

Damon awoke with immense pain spread throughout his entire being. Memories of the events that had just taken place flooded into his fuzzy mind. Before he could panic it took several deep breaths before he was even able to sit himself up. He heard a loud crack and knew a rib had no doubt been fractured. The boy still had his eyes closed, for fear of opening them and finding out that he was no longer alive.

When he finally willed himself to open his eyes, he could not believe what he was seeing.

Everywhere around him were...people! People with...pure white and see through skin and they were all standing in a straight line that in the back direction stretched on miles and miles and seemed to have no end. They didn't notice to him either and instead seemed utterly focused on the front of the line where strangely enough stood what appeared to be a shore of a large body of water, that at the moment hosted one singular long and narrow boat to which the line was leading to. At the head of the vessel, stood,...Damon wasn't quite sure what, it looked like a tree with its top cut off. Deciding to take several steps forward until he was only a few feet from the shore, Damon realized the 'tree' was actually a man. A very old man. His eyes were sunken under his sharp cheeks and most of his face remained engulfed under the high collar of his long pure black cloak.

He didn't pay any attention to Damon either. The gorgon boy couldn't pin point it, but something about this man immediately made him feel very frightened. Perhaps it was the way his dull eyes stared forward with seemingly no other purpose than to hold out his long skeletal arm to receive gold coins that the see through people were offering him before they boarded the boat.

Damon felt his body begin to tremble and he immediately wished he was facing the three hound once more. His snakes were also voicing their disproval, however before he could obey their advice and run, he was suddenly being grabbed by his shoulders.

"Ah-"

"Shhhhh please please just listen!" It was one of the see through people that had grabbed him. This one was a man, who possessed eyes that had more frantic panic than Damon had ever seen in another person.

"I- Do you want my place?!"

"Yes! Of course you do! You're just a boy, I'm sure they will judge you with mercy ,but not me, I-I'll surely be sent to Tartarus for my crimes." The man seemed to be talking to himself more than the gorgon boy. "Yes, Yes, I'll just live on the shore of Styx for the rest of my after life, anything has to be better than Tartarus, and you, you can take these." Before Damon could even process what the man had just said, he was suddenly shoved two gold coins onto his small hands and being pushed into the place the see through man had just occupied in the line.

And that place just happened to be the second to next in line. Heart beating rapidly once more Damon watched in mounting anxiety as the woman before him quickly dropped her gold coins into the still arm of the old man.

Once the see through maiden had walked forward onto the boat, the scary man's beady eyes focused on the snake haired child. Damon began to shake. For once he almost wished that his stone turning eyes would work right now. However as he slightly suspected when he found the courage to meet the eyes of the white haired man, he was completely unaffected by Damon's gaze.

'Perhaps he is already made of stone' The boy thought distantly.

"mmrggghhhhhhh" Damon was torn from his thoughts when he heard an eerie groan most likely coming from the unblinking white haired man staring down at him.

All logical thought left the boy, when he noticed the frightening man's arm that had not previously appeared to have the ability to move, was now jerkily reaching towards him. Damon was frozen in fear as the man's boney hand neared him. Now that it was so close, the snake haired child could see how truly disgusting it was. The appendage's flesh , what little there was, was completely rotten and colored in dark shade of purple. The old man's finger nails were horribly chipped in many different places and their color was sickly yellow.

Damon felt as if he might throw up, however before the bile could emerge from his throat, the man's hand was suddenly retracting and it was at that moment, the serpent haired child realized the coins he had been holding were now in the hand of the white haired man and without much thought other than the want to get out of the old man's sight, Damon instinctually let his feet carry him forward straight onto the boat.

Standing in the middle of the boat's deck, with the see through people around him all ignoring his presence in favor of looking forward out onto the massive river's horizon, the serpent haired child could think of nothing else to do in his stressed sense of mind other than to curl into tight a ball on the ground in the fetal position, as he tried with all his might to slow down his racing heart.


	3. Chapter 3

As his heart thumped rapidly in his chest and his snakes above him hissed and waved frantically, Damon clutched his face in his hands whilst he tried to slow down his heavy breathing by counting the number of age lines in the old wood of the deck floor. The gentle swaying of the boat against the river's small waves eventually soothed Damon and his 'hair' to the point his heart rate returned to normal.

Then, the rocking of the vessel stopped and the boy knew it was docking. Before he could even stand up from his fetal position, Damon was being pushed upward and then forward as suddenly all the see through people aboard the boat were getting off in one large heap. The gorgon boy struggled fruitlessly against the sea of see through bodies that all ,but carried him forward onto shore. Thankfully due to his small size, it was rather easy for Damon to slip free once there was he was given the slightest slack.

Once freedom was within his grasp the gorgon boy wasted no time in running a few feet down the shore away from the crowd. After taking a few seconds to catch his breath in a slightly bent over position, Damon decided to stand up straight and turn to see where he was now.

What he saw (like everything else that strange day) shocked him. Just in front of him stood a massive palace, surrounded by a gate that stretched so high above him, Damon could not see the end of it. It was at this moment he also noticed that the see through people were lining up again. The gorgon boy thought they were getting in a line to enter the palace, however his theory was soon disproven when he saw that they were lining up in the opposite direction.

At first Damon was mildly confused for it appeared that there was nothing out there except a vast expanse of heavy fog ,but then after taking a second look, the gorgon boy saw in the distance, a golden light coming from the entrance to a long tunnel. One by one he watched as each see through person disappeared into the glowing tunnel entrance.

'What's in there. Why are they so eager to go i-'

"creeeeeeeeeek" Shaken from his thoughts, Damon turned to see that the long boat was now being edged off the shore and back into the water. The gorgon boy might have considered running towards and trying to get on before he was left in this unfamiliar place were it not for the petrifying old man still being on board, this time with both his long skeletal arms in full view as he gripped a lengthy ore and steered the boat farther and farther away from the river bank.

"Hissssssssss"

"Shhhhh, Guys I need to think!" Damon snapped at his 'hair', trying his best to ignore his serpents' fangs nipping at his forehead in a desperate bid to get his attention.

"HISSSSSSSS"

"I mean it. Sto-"

"Well, what do we have here?"

Damon's thudding heart came to a dead hault as he heard an unfamailiar voice speak up from behind him and was suddenly shrouded under a long shadow. Shakily, the gorgon boy turned around to see who was behind him.

The sight Damon was met with was instantly added to his mental list of horrifying spectacles he had witnessed so far that day. Before him stood two women who like the massive three headed hound and old man at the boat were unaffected by his deadly stone turning gaze. On both of the maidens' backs hung colossal black feathered wings. Their faces that were covered in black markings while their identical long dark hair framed their thin faces almost attractively. The woman on the left had blood red eyes that stared at Damon sinisterly. The woman on the right's pupils were dark blue that gazed down emotionlessly at the gorgon boy.

"Looks like someone wandered in where they weren't supposed to." The red eyed maiden said with a sly smirk appearing on her black streaked face as she leered toward the young snake haired boy.

Damon gulped quietly and took a shaky backwards.

"Alecto, stop." The dark blue eyed woman called out to her companion. "You know we do not act without permission from our king."

The red eyed woman stopped in her tracks before letting out a loud groan of annoyance. "Megaera, must you always be so dull."

'So those their names are Alecto and Megaera.' Damon thought to himself as he shudderingly averted his gaze from the intimidating crimson eyes that were glaring at him.

"Alecto." Megaera said ominously when the scarlet pupiled female tried ignoring her and kept advancing toward the small youth. "You'd be foolish to not heed my generous warning."

Alecto let out an obnoxious sigh as she finally halted her stalking. "Urghhhh ,fine since you insist on being such a downer we'll do it your way."

It was at this moment both winged women turned their attention on the cowering gorgon boy before them.

Damon felt his pounding heart beat rapidly escalate when their intense pupils landed on him. One thought alone dominated his alarmed mind in that instant.

'run.'

Acting quickly, Damon spun around on his heels before breaking into a sprint in a desperate attempt to try and get away.

It was all in vain though, because he didn't even get more than two steps before he was suddenly tackled to the ground. The gorgon boy gasped as his body was suddenly entangled under long arms. When he looked up Damon saw that it was Alecto who had captured him.

"Trying to run off? That was foolish." She snarled before standing up elegantly with the squirming gorgon boy tucked neatly under her arm like a bag of grain. Damon's snakes tried fruitlessly to flail and bite at the black winged woman's arm who didn't even reward their valiant effort with a side ways glance. The snake haired boy's breath came in short pants as his hands and legs trembled.

"Well, shall we?" Alecto said snidely to her associate. Megaera ignored the crimson eyed woman and simply began walking in front of Alecto.

Damon wanted to believe that the women were going to walk to wherever their 'king' was however he was soon disproven, when suddenly both the maidens' wings expanded to their full length and before he could even process what was happening they were soaring into the air.

The gorgon boy couldn't even scream because he was frozen in absolute horror as all color drain from his face and he squeezed his eyes shut.

Even his snakes remained silent.

Unlikely

The terrifying flight thankfully had only lasted no more than a few moments before suddenly a very shrill whistle pierced the air, then Damon heard a very loud noise that sounded as if something large was being opened. Then before he knew what was happening they were descending. Acting with more courage than he thought he possessed the gorgon boy opened his eyes and when he did he saw that the black winged women had taken him into the ginormous palace he had laid his yellow eyes upon when he first came off the boat.

The inside of the fortress was decorated intricately with all manners of vast adornments and garnishing the likes of which the young boy had never seen before.

"Alecto, Megaera. Is there a reason you decided to come careening into my court?" A stern voice called out, breaking Damon from his thoughts. Due to Megaera standing in front of him, the child with serpent locks could not see who had spoken.

"My lord, allow me to show the reason for our rude entrance," The dark blue eyed maiden said before stepping aside, leaving the snake haired child in full view.

Damon's pupils enlarged as he saw that the image Megaera's body had been shielding from his view was that of an incredibly intimidating man with hair white as snow and eyes a deep shade of dark purple. His skin was an ashy grey color that contrasted greatly against the white fog that surrounded his palace.

Damon wanted to shrink in on himself as the man's purple pupils observed him in a way that made the boy believe he was ,but an object to inspect.

"He is-"

"alive, yes my lord."

"...What is the meaning of this?" The man asked clearly trying to restrain an edge of rage mixed with shock from bleeding into his tone.

" hat We are not sure of, Hades." Came Megaera's reply.

'So his name is Hades, that sounds...familiar.' Damon thought to himself.

"My sister and I were simply coming back for a small rest after we completed our morning duties, when we came across the child." Alecto explained.

The menacing man put a hand that was fifty thousand times larger than Damon's to his grey forehead in clear contemplation. After a beat of silence that seemed to last an eternity for the gorgon boy, Hades sighed, then spoke.

"I suppose he came here upon Charon's boat."

Megaera nodded. "Most likely my lord."

"and he has already steered his vessel back to the other side of Styx?"

"Correct."

Hades let out an agitated sigh in response before he replied. "That blasted old fool will take at least a full Earth day before he has loaded up enough passengers to take back." The grey skinned man surmised.

"If you are afraid for the child's safety," Megaera said, "may I remind you that most mortal beings do not start to have their souls ripped from their bodies until well after a week in this kingdom." Damon once again gulped as he imagined being condoned to such a fate.

"Yes Megaera, but the problem is where do I store the boy until Charon returns, if he was able to stumble into the Underworld somehow, I'd hate to imagine where else he could wander to."

"If I may offer a suggestion my lord-"

"No, Alecto I will not cast the boy into Tartarus."

As Damon tuned them out he thought about how strangely they discussed his presence as if he were any or other mortal child. Something about that gave him a small sense warmness and comfortability.

After letting out another sigh, Hades dismissively said, "Just,...Megaera, go and place the child somewhere he won't find trouble and you can easily find him once Charon returns, Alecto I need you to go and stand watch for that ancient boat driver and alert me once he has arrived back."

"Yes, My lord."

"Fine if I must, my lord."

Before Damon could even process what was happening, he was suddenly being handed off, to Megaera who had decided hold him like that of a new born baby much to his inner chagrin, then suddenly the gorgon boy realized they were in the air again.

Letting out a shrill yelp this time, he once again clenched his eyes shut as the dark blue eyed woman flew them through the countless halls of the enormous castle. After a few agonizingly long minutes, they descend. When the gorgon boy open his eyes, he saw that the black winged woman was now standing in front of a very large stone door.

Then without warning, Megaera threw the heavy door open with strength Damon didn't realize she possessed, and tossed the snake haired child inside. Before he could even offer a sound of protest, the dark blue eyed woman had all ,but slammed the door closed in his face.

Due to there being no light source, save for the dim light of the dark sky seeping through a small window, Damon could not see much of the room. The darkness surrounding him, made the gorgon child suddenly very uneasy and he wanted to get out, desperately.

Sadly no matter how hard he pounded his tiny fists against the enormous door it seemed that no one could hear him and even if they could he was sure none of them would likely come to his rescue. So seeing no other option, Damon slid down against the door until he was in a fetal position once again that day, and accompanied by the sound of his frantic 'hair' , cried into his bruised arms.


	4. Chapter 4

Hades was aware of her presence the moment she walked into the room despite being turned in the opposite direction upon his throne.

After an uncomfortable best of silence  
the lord of the underworld found himself invisible tensing as he suddenly heard his wife step closer and closer to him, he bare feet echoed softly against the contrastingly hard stone beneath her.

Effortlessly maintaining his stern demeanor, Hades turned to meet the famailiar bright hazel eyes staring lovingly at him.

When the lord of the underworld saw the sorrow present in Persephone's eyes that she was clearly trying to mask with a pleasant ,but clearly fake smile he could not help ,but feel caught off guard.

The two lovers stared into each other's eyes for one moment longer before, Persephone spoke up, her voice barely above a soft whisper as she bowed her head, very aware of the intent purple eyes fixed upon her.

"I...last night I acted ill towards you," The queen of the underworld lifted a dainty hand to rest upon her husband's considerably larger one.  
"And, I hope you can forgive me I swear to you I'm all better now." As she finished this soft spoken decree of self depreciation, the spring goddess began to gently stroke her husband's stone cold arm whilst remaining intent on avoiding his stern gaze until she was certain he had forgiven her.

Feeling Hades suck in a breath, Persephone stilled as her husband began to reply.

"You have no reason to apologise." Hades stated tersely with his usually monotone pitch that have the Spring goddess no clue as to what he was thinking.

"Despite what you may believe, you're not an immature child." Hades continued. "Something upset you yesterday, and if you would be willing to share it with me perhaps I can be of aid." The lord of the underworld propositioned whilst shifting so that he was sitting up straighter upon his throne.

Taking the familiar que, Persephone gracefully took a seat on her throne chair that stood next to Hades' whilst still keeping her gentle grip tight on her husband's calloused hand.

"I,...I simply forgot an obvious truth and foolishly tried to deny it, but now I have come to my senses, and if it would be alright may I please ask that we both simply forget about it."

"...very well if you wish, my love"

Unlikely

"Child, what are you working yourself up over this time?"

"HISSSSSS"

"Shut up I can't hear myself think with you little heathens making so much noise."

"hisss"

"Look what you did you worked the little ones up!?"

"M-mom!"

"Oh sorry please continue."

"I...I...it hurts! Please make it stop!"

"Where does it hurt at?"

"M-my arm I-I *hic* I cut it earlier."

"Oh Ok, ok I see, calm down now Damon. You're alright it's just a scrape."

"B-but it really *hic* h-hurts."

"That's only because you've never injured yourself till now. I promise you after a little bit the pain will be gone and next time something like this happens it won't feel as painful."

"Hisssssssssss"

"...*hic* .."

"Hissssssss!"

"Just shut *hic* up!" Damon shouted at his raging hair.

The gorgon boy was unsure of how long he had sat in that barely lit room hiding within his own mind as a coping mechanism, all he knew was he was finally starting to calm down somewhat as his earlier sobbing gradually eased into gentle hiccups and whimpers.

Looking up from the crook of his folded arms, Damon let his yellow eyes wander about the room. That action was pretty pointless though due to the aforementioned darkness encapsulating the entirety of the room save for the small window that allowed just a peek of light emanating from this world's small and pale sun to enter and illuminate Damon as he sat hunched up against the steel door he had first been thrown through. Still at least it was something for the gorgon boy to do besides crying his eyes out some more.

"Hissss"

"I know I know this is all my fault I should have listen to you guys." Damon sighed as he wiped at his tear stained cheeks.

"I, we'll be okay."

"Hisssss"

"I am not lying."

"Hisssss"

"I wonder what that guy was saying earlier."

Truthfully Damon's heart had been pounding so hard in his ears that everything the grey skinned man had said was all ,but completely drowned out and translated to nothing more that muffled whispers.

"Hisssss"

"Calm down already! I told you we'll be okay I,...I'll figure a way out."

When the gorgon boy was for once met with what he wished for, silence Damon let out a soft sigh as he finally worked up enough energy to stand up and walk about the room.

Unlikely

Persephone felt as if two large boulders had been lifted from each of her shoulders, and she was finally free to breathe easier.

The spring goddess let out a contented sigh as she exited the room, pleasantly but not without sparing her beloved husband a kind glance.

Persephone didn't know why her silly mind could not come to that same conclusion earlier, of course talking with her husband would make her able to see things in a better light. Hades as much as he wore that mask of firm control and sternness was still the best person to converse with in Persephone's eyes.

His understanding yet firm gaze and gentle ,but confident speak had always made the queen of the underworld feel secure and protected and loved, no matter what her folly might have been.

It had been so easy for the two to fall back into their usual verbal waltz as soon as the Spring goddess had requested so. Persephone thanked the fates, that she had such a reliable partner whom she was sure if she asked of him to capture Apollo's blazing chariot and bring it to her as a gift he would waste no time in getting right on it.

As Persephone began to make her way down a familiar long palace hall, she began to prepare herself for her morning lyre lesson.

While the Underworld queen was pleased that she was making good progress on the instrument and was sure that one day she would be able to play beautifully for her dear husband just like that man who had entered the Underworld so long ago in search of his lost love had, a part of her still dreaded the fact that she would have to once again face her aggressively harsh instructor (who had been requested by Hades to donate some time out of his peaceful afterlife in  
Elysium once an Earth week, to spend teaching Persephone the ins and outs of making music).

'I understand he is trying to help me...' The Spring goddess admitted to herself. 'I just wish he wouldn't resort to constantly insulting my intelligence, I may not be the wisest goddess who ever existed ,but-'

"*THUD*"

"QUIET DOWN!"

Persephone jumped as she heard a voice that sounded very much like Megaera's echo throughout the room. Turning around slightly, in her startled state, the Spring goddess saw that the sounds appeared to be eminating from a divergent passage way that was more or less shrouded in darkness as it led farther and farther towards the center of the palace.

As the Underworld queen heard another distant thud sound followed by a muffled curse uttered by Megeara bounce off of the palace walls, her curiosity soon won out over her desire to get to her daily lyre lesson and the Spring goddess soon found herself abandoning her original path in favor of heading down the altering hallway.

As she quickly stumbled down the ever darkening hallway, the sounds that had caught her attention in the first place grew louder and louder until finally the Spring goddess was gifted the sight of torch hanging from a small perch on each of the hallway's walls illuminating both a large steel door and beside it, the sillhouette of Megaera.

Upon seeing the curious goddess, the fury was quick to make her surprise known.

"My queen what are-"

"*Thud* Hisssssss"

Persephone's curious expression immediately morphed into one of confusion when she heard the odd sound of snakes hissing.

Mean while, the fury quickly took on a look of annoyance as she turned back to face the door. Megaera appeared to be about to yell at the mysterious creature hidden inside the locked room ,but before she could Persephone suddenly interupted her by asking

"Megaera what's in there?" The Spring goddess gestured blatantly toward the steel door.

"It's not important my queen please continue on your way."

"Megaera, please I asked you a question." Persephone replied, hoping she didn't sound as harsh as she did in her head.

The fury paused for a moment before saying.

"It is nothing that you need concern yourself with everything is under contro-"

Megaera was suddenly interupted when the door once again fell victim to whatever creature was bashing itself against it. However, this time instead of silence following the violent blow, the sound of soft sobbing and pained grunts could be heard through the door.

Persephone couldn't stop a small gasp from escaping her when she realized the crying sounded painfully familiar to that of a small child.

Quickly walking towards the door, the Spring goddess knelt down slightly and laid her palm against the agonizingly cold, steel door when suddenly she felt the vibrations of a body being slammed into it from the other side.

Her theory that the being behind the door was a child was quickly confirmed when she saw that the shuddering of the door caused by the impact reached no higher than a few feet from the ground.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Persephone asked frantically.  
"Why is a child being locked up?"

"My queen I am simply doing as I was ordere-"

"Hissssss"

The Spring goddess felt her immortal heart drop into her stomach as she panickedly realized that a small child was in a locked room with what had to be large serpents on account of their loud hissing.

Resisting the urge to let a curse escape from her thin lips, Persephone shot to her feet before turning to Megaera.

"Megaera." The Underworld queen said with a fake sternness present in her voice that she hoped at least vaguely resembled her husband's.  
"Open the door."

"My queen, I am under orders." The monotone fury explained tersely.

"Well now you're under new orders open. the. door."

Unlikely

Damon let out a mental curse as he held his now bleeding right hand, that was undoubtedly fractured in some way.

"Hisss"

The gorgon child didn't feel like mustering up a reply to his frantic snakes and instead opted to back a few feet farther from the door before once again flinging himself full force against it.

However this time instead of finding himself kissing freezing cold steel the gorgon boy instead heard a loud creeking noise before suddenly he felt himself tumbling to the ground and sliding out the doorway.

As his small body came crashing onto the hard floor that was illuminated by the golden orange glow of what was most likely a torch. After taking a moment to let out a pained moan, Damon slowly lifted his head from the ground and looked up to see what was the cause for his successful escape attempt.

The gorgon child couldn't help ,but let out a small gasp as he saw that before him stood, a tall woman (who like everything else in this world remained uneffected by his cursed gaze) with golden tanned skin and long fiery red hair. Her eyes were a gorgeously bright shade of hazel.

The woman's dress flowed prettily on her with it's soft lavender color standing out against its dreary surroundings like a flower in winter time.

Damon's mind quickly pondered how it was possible that a person with such a contrasting appearence could exist in this bleak place.

"What the-"

"Hisss!"

As his snakes brought the young boy back to reality, and he saw the fear present in the pretty woman's eyes he knew he had to get out of there fast.  
Whenever someone showed fear against him it never turned out well.

The gorgon boy quickly leapt to his feet then wasting no time, broke into a sprint that would hopefully take him far away from the frightened maiden and the blue eyed woman who had imprisoned him in the first place.

However Damon's dreams of escape were soon crushed under the boot of reality when he heard the sound of wings flapping and suddenly there stood Megaera blocking his path as she stared down at him apathetically .

Heart beating rapidly in his small chest Damon used his small legs the best he could to sharply turn around and bolt the other way.

As he ran, he noticed the red haired woman was standing in his way ,but instead of seeing her as an obstacle the gorgon boy assured himself she would be so horrified by his monstrous appearance that she would not try to stop him in any way at all.

With this assumption in mind the gorgon boy picked up his pace and sprinted as fast as he could. As he came close to the pretty woman, Damon quickly ducked to the side in hopes of gaining some distance before his ears would undoubtedly be pierced by the sound of a terrified shriek.

However, as Damon began to manuver his feet to run around the red haired woman he suddenly felt himself being grabbed around the waist and yanked upwards so that his feet were no longer touching the ground.

The snake haired child found himself letting out his own horrified howl, as his snakes waved around frantically above him.

"Woah there!" He heard a shout and realized it was the red haired woman speaking.

Twisting his head around, similarly to that of an owl, Damon's pupils shrunk in utter shock as he soon realized the hazel eyed woman had been the one who grabbed him and was now holding him up like a sack of wheat.

Before the gorgon boy could stop himself, his body began functioning on instinct and began to struggle fruitlessly against the woman's surprisingly strong hold.

The red haired woman noticed this ,but did not release him and instead spoke.

"Hey! Stop that!"

"My queen!" Damon turned to see Megaera approaching them.

"Persephone! Please, I am so sorry let me-"

"Relax Maegera." The hazel eyed woman who was apparently named Persephone, interupted in a surprisingly calm refrain.

"But-'"

"I've got him. Doing endless farm labor your whole life really builds up some muscle." She explained.

Megaera still seemed uncertain, though she restrained herself from taking a step further towards the two.

"Alright, I'm very confused." The tanned woman admitted aloud, as she adjusted Damon till he was just about pressed against her whilst the gorgon child continued to fight fruitlessly against her unyielding hold.

"What in Olympus is a gorgon doing in the underworld?!" Persephone asked.

"I am not sure my queen, he was found near Stix earlier and Lord Hades requested that we make sure he didn't run off anywhere until Charon returned." Megaera explained

"Oh" The red haired maiden replied, appearing thoughtful.

Damon watched her expression carefully as he anxiously waited to see what she would reply with.

'What if she's mad at me for coming to the place?!' The gorgon boy thought anxiously. 'Please don't hurt me please don't hur-'

" *Gasp* Oh no!" The red haired woman's shouting broke Damon from his panicked thoughts as the gorgon boy suddenly realized his right arm was being grabbed by one of the hazel eyed maiden's surprisingly calloused hands.

Damon's breath stilled as she brought up close to her face. In an act of desperation his snakes began to attack retaliate by brutally sinking their multiple sets of fangs deep into the woman's arm.

The gorgon boy quickly braced himself to be dropped, but to his bewilderment he was not released from her strong grip within the next few moments. Looking up at Persephone's face, Damon was shocked to see that her expression had only appeared to be slightly discontent with the assault on her arm.

The tanned woman seemed much more intent on observing, the young boy's injured arm.

"Megaera?" The hazel eyed maiden suddenly spoke up.

"Yes my queen," Came Megaera's reply.

"The child is hurt, we must remedy this."

"I'm afraid I don't understand-"

The winged woman was suddenly cut off, when the sound of fabric being torn apart erupted through the still air of the dark hallway.

Both the currently captive gorgon child and black winged woman let out a surprised gasp as they watched the beautiful maiden rip off a piece of fabric from the bottom of her pretty dress. Then shifting Damon in her arms so that his wriggling body was tucked neatly under her left arm whilst using her right arm to lift the ruined clothe to the boy's arm, the hazel eyed woman began to wrap the fabric around the child's bleeding arm.

Damon went still in stunned silence whilst he trembled helplessly as the red haired woman meticulously encased the boy's small arm in the now red stained fabric.

After a beat of silence the hazel eyed maiden managed to finish tying the clothe around the boy's bleeding limb.

Straightening up into a standing position, the red haired woman once again shifted Damon in his arms, this time positioning him so that he was held like that of a newly born babe. If his frazzled mind wasn't lost in confusion and anxiety Damon might have had the sense to feel embarrassed.

"Alright," Persephone suddenly spoke, as she looked down at the snake haired child in her arms.

"May I ask what your name is, little one?"


	5. Chapter 5

""May I ask what your name is, little one?"

Damon felt his blood run cold, as he felt Persephone's hazel eyes focus on him. His stomach began to twist in painful knots.

The gorgon boy ducked his head down so that his gaze landed upon the stone floor as he tried to hide under the vail of his wild snake hair in order avoid eye contact with her.

Addhereing to their owner's clear eagerness to pretend his captor was non-existent Damon's snakes aided him in this endeavor by bending down around his face and forming a small cacoon to to shield him from the outside world.

This soon proved ineffective though, for after a few moments of silence(save for the sound Damon's snakes' sharp hissing of course) the red haired maiden seemed to realize that the gorgon boy was intent on ignoring her existence and all of the sudden Damon felt a soft ,but stern hand forcing it's way through his hair, so that it could gently grip his chin and force him to look up from the ground.

Damon stiffened as he clenched his jaw tightly. The pain in his stomach increased slightly as Persephone's piercing gaze made him tremble as he vainly tried once more to squirm out of her hold. In response the red haired maiden tightened her hold on him and spoke again.

"Please stop," Persephone adjusted the boy so that he was tilted upwards more and when Damon's snakes retaliated by once again viscously baring their fangs into her arms, the hazel eyed woman had apparently had enough of their interference and decided to put a stop to their involvement by running her free hand through the boy's 'hair' and grasping the child's serpents firmly ,but not painfully by the roots and pulling the snakes back so that they were rendered helpless in aiding Damon in his futile escape attempt.

The gorgon boy's yellow eyes widened as they frantically darted about, his heart beat picked up in pace rapidly to the point all his young ears could hear was the constant pounding of the organ against his small rib cage. His abdomen twisted even tighter and he was beginning to feel slightly dizzy.

"Hey!"

Damon was snapped from his fear induced trance when he heard Persephone's shouting. Upon turning his head and once again making eye contact the gorgon boy briefly believed that the red haired maiden was angry with him and was no doubt about to deal him a punishment most unkind.

However when Persephone decided to speak again, the tone she spoke sounded nothing more than a gentle chastisement. "Now, now stop that I'm not going to hurt you I just want to know your name, little one."

Damon stared confusedly at the hazel eyed woman, his struggles ceasing in vigor just slightly. When he still had yet to open his mouth, the red haired maiden tilted her head as she said, "What's the matter, Can't you speak"

To emphasis her query Persephone leaned closer to Damon while lifting him up higher to her level. "You're not mute or deaf are you?" Her concern seemed very genuine.

Damon couldn't stop his face from flushing red in embarrassment. Desperate to stop the humiliation, the gorgon boy threw his face in his hands in a last ditch effort to somehow block out Persephone's intent stare.

However that attempt was just as futile as the others for it took very little effort for the red haired maiden to simply lean down a little more and make her presence unavoidable, however before the hazel eyed woman could speak Damon stopped her by finally allowing his voice to be put to use, in order to hopefully make the hazel eyed woman let him go.

"no." The gorgon boy was surprised how fragile his voice sounded.

Upon hearing Damon speak, Persephone let a kind smile grace her features. "Ah so you can speak. Can you tell me what your name is?"

Silently swallowing, the gorgon boy replied with a whispered. "Y-yes."

Upon seeing an encouraging nod and smile being sent his way, the gorgon boy looked down and decided to elaborate and continue. "M-my name is Damon."

When he looked back up Damon saw Persephone beaming at him with a comforting sort of look that he had never seen aimed at him before. Then again the gorgon boy had never known a look aimed at him that was not fear or hatred.

"Thank you, that's a very lovely name." The red haired maiden praised. "Now can you answer me another question, how did you find your way down here?"

"I-I didn't mean to." Damon could once again feel his stomach twisting into knots and they were beginning to become more painful. Still the gorgon boy pushed on speaking. " It was an accident, the flowers-"

"Flowers?!" Persephone shouted, cutting the boy off. "Wait, I-Is that how you got here? You followed my trail?"

"umm, yeah" Damon replied sheepishly. He wasn't fond of the way the red haired maiden was acting about this discovery. His stomach (if possible) felt as if it were tightening in even further. " I just, they tasted really good and-"

"You ate them?!" Persephone once again interrupted. The shock on her face increased tenfold.

"Well, uh yes?" The gorgon boy nervously replied.

"How many?" The hazel eyed woman demanded, though there was no trace of anger in her voice, just major hints of worry.

Damon couldn't stop himself from looking shyly looking at the stone floor once more as he hesitantly replied. "Almost all of them, I think."

Persephone's eyes widened as she bit her lip in a momentary display of panic. "Oh child, that was most unwise." She finally spoke out. However Damon could barely hear her for, out of nowhere a spike of pain much larger than the previous ones was stabbed into his abdomen, and before the snaked haired child was even aware of what was happening, the foul taste of bile rose up his throat and his stomach's contents were suddenly being emptied into the air.

"HISSSSSS!"

Damon soon found himself in an awful cycle of retching so physically taxing, all he could register was the feeling of the disgusting liquids spilling out his burning throat.

He was so engrossed in coughing up all of his previous meals, that he didn't even notice the sharp gasp that escaped both Persephone and Megaera's lips nor, the sound of their arguing, and certainly not the gentle hand that began patting his small back as he was suddenly turned away from Persephone's bossum and set gingerly upon the floor where the rest of his bile could rid itself from his throat in peace. The hand on his back never left.

After a little while the last of Damon's throw up trickled down his small chin and he no longer felt there was anything left in his stomach to empty.

Wiping his face in a vain attempt to rid himself of the horrible smell that soon followed his sickening display, Damon let his mind remain blank for a moment as he tried desperately to get his frantic panting under control.

That moment however was soon cut short when he heard Persephone speaking once more.

"Have you got it all out?" Her voice sounded concerned.

"I, uh-" Damon has begun to turn around to better answer the red haired maiden, but as he soon as he did, he very much wished he hadn't.

Persephone's once pretty lavender dress was now covered in large remenants of Damon's throw up. The spots were so engulfing they made the parts of her dress that had been untouched by the snake haired boy's vomit look like they were the stains and Damon's ugly throw up had been the original color of the now ruined dress.

The gorgon boy's eyes widened in disbelief as a part of his exhaustion addled brain stupidly wondered how his small abdomen could hold so much liquid.

Damon quickly chanced a glance at Megaera and upon being met with her angry glare, the gorgon boy felt like retching all over again. His nerves were set a flame as anxiety enveloped his mind and he his entire being shake.

Looking back towards Persephone Damon saw the red haired maiden's previous sympathetic gaze had turned into one of distaste as she looked down upon her ruined clothing, apparently she had just now realizing Damon's vomit had landed on her.

At that moment the gorgon boy felt very overwhelmed and he didn't know what to do or say next.

That was probably why, without even realizing he was doing so, Damon began to cry.

Unlikely

'Well there goes my favorite dress' Persephone thought fitfully as she inspected the damage done to her clothing. 'Forgive me husband, I know it was you went through alot of trouble to get Tisiphone to sew it, but how could I predict the child to retch upon me out of nowhere'

Sighing quietly, Persephone urged herself to forget those petty matters for now and focus on the ill child infront of her.

'Well it's a good thing he's finally stopped vomiting, I should probably make him carry a note for his mother on where to find some nice herbs to ease any remaining pain he might experience once he returns to-'

Persephone was torn from her thoughts when upon turning her attention back Damon, she discovered silent tears streaming down the boy's pale cheeks while his yellow eyes slowly became tinted red from the moisture.

Horrified, the Spring goddess let out a small gasp of alarm as she slowly inches herself closer to the boy, desperate reasurrences on the tip of her immortal tongue.

However before she could even utter the slightest condolences, the gorgon boy, seeing her come closer suddenly scrambled backwards his eyes wide like that of a prey being cornered by a large predator.

Alarmed at the display of panic and not wanting the boy to accidentally fall back into his own bile, Persephone acted impulsively and quickly grabbed the boy under his small arms and hoisted him up towards her till he was basically sitting upon her lap.

The red haired goddess probably should have known the boy would react poorly to being manhandled once again, but she was still mildly shocked when Damon let out a loud shriek and being to flail in her hold like an eel being taken out of water as his sobs increased exponentially in volume.

Not quite knowing what else to do, the queen of the underworld did the only thing she could think to, and wrapped her arms tightly around the boy before pushing him up against her chest. At first Damon continued to struggle with as much vigour as that of a mortal trapped in quicksand, but after a few moments it appeared as if something broke within the small child and out of nowhere his body went limp in the hazel eyed goddess's hold much to his frantic snakes' disapproval.

Pitying the young child, Persephone attempted to soothe him by softly saying. "There, there it's alright, it's alright."

As the words left the goddess's mouth, Damon's rowdy sobs became muffled against her chest and suddenly the boy looked like that of a warrior who realized they had been defeated and had now given up and accepted their fate. Persephone felt her heart tighten in her chest at the gut wrenching scene and she had to try with all of her power to keep from shedding tears of her own.

'No,' The red head told herself. 'Now is not the time to act pitiful, this poor child is scared,confused, and sick. He needs help.'

With newfound determination, Persephone hastily stood up. This elicied a quiet whimper from Damon as he was suddenly repositioned in her hold.

"Shhhh, it's okay. You're not in trouble." Persephone kindly said.

"My queen!" Megaera had apparently been broken from whatever angered and shocked trance she had just been in. "I am so sorry! Let me-"

The fury cut herself off when she was met with the sight of Persephone's raised hand.

"It is fine, Megaera. I will take care of it." With these words the Spring goddess began walking away towards the exit of the dark hallway, Damon still clutched tightly against her chest.

"My queen wait! You shouldn't-"

"I said. I'll. take. care. of. it." The red haired goddess said, cutting off the fury once more without even turning back to face her. As Megaera stood there dumbfounded, Persephone hastily walked as fast as she could out of the hallway, her grip on Damon not loosening in the slightest.

'First things first,' Persephone determinedly thought. 'Both the boy and I need to rid ourselves from this disgusting vomit.'


	6. Chapter 6

"Hissssssssssss"

"....*hic*...erm..*hic*. s-sor...ry.....p-plea..s-se.. d-don-n't-"

"Shhhhh it's okay, everything's alright." Persephone comforted the sniveling child in her arms. She was thankful their destination was only a little further.  
As the Spring goddess, continued to make her way down the vast passage ways of her husband's palace, she couldn't help ,but ponder why the boy had touched her Eritika flowers in the first place.  
'He said they tasted good?' Persephone thought, ' they are known for possessing sweeter nectar compared to other flowers so,....I suppose he must have liked the taste so much he followed them all the way to-wait then how did he get past Cereberous!?'  
The queen of the Underworld bit her thin lip, as she wondered how a small mortal boy could make it past the guardian of the of the Underworld. After a beat of silence,(save for the sound of Damon's sobs) the answer came to her.  
'I'm such a fool!' The Spring goddess barated herself. 'Cereberous must have smelled the scent of my flowers and believed it was me!'  
Why had she even though it was a good idea to plant those things? It wasn't as if she couldn't remmember where that stupid cave was. She had just hated how bare that cavern looked, and those Eritika flowers were the only kind of plant life that could not only survive ,but thrive in that dark cold envirement.  
'Once again my idiocracy has caused trouble for innocent bystanders.' Persephone scathingly told herself. 'Oh well, no use crying about spilled embrosha, first things first I need to get this boy cleaned up. I do hope his parents haven't killed themselves with worry. I wonder where they were while their child wandered off?'  
Persephone shook her head in exasperated confusion. She would just have to ask the gorgon boy about those minor details later. Right now there were more pressing matters to be taken care of.  
Upon turning her attention back to her surroundings, Persephone was immediately met with the sight of her desired destination - at the end of one of the palace's many halls stood a pair of large crimson colored doors that each adorned a shining ebony black handle.  
Wasting no time at all, the queen of the Underworld quickly threw one of the doors open and sprinted inside.

  
_**Unlikely** _

  
Damon wasn't quite sure what was happening anymore. All he knew was that he felt utterly exhausted. His mouth was stained with the bitter taste of bile, his eyes-which he could not muster the effort to open at the moment- felt extremely sore and itchy, his ears pounded painfully with the sound of his snakes going haywire, and he was beginning to feel dizzy from the constant movement going on around him.  
The snake haired child's only comfort was the fact his stomach felt slightly better now.  
The gorgon boy felt so disoriented he almost failed to realize it when Persephone was speaking to him.  
"Alright child, I'm going to set you down for just a moment. I promise to be right back." After she finished speaking, Damon suddenly found himself being laid face down on a soft, warm surface. As he heard the sound of the red haired maiden's footsteps slowly fade away, the gorgon boy found it increasingly hard to stay awake despite the effort of his frantic snakes to keep him alert.  
Steadily Damon drifted out of consciousness with one last fleeting thought on his mind.  
'Maybe when I wake, this will have been just a bad dream.'  
Unlikely  
Hades had lost himself in a sea of scrolls detailing the requests of a thousand and one souls who wished to be granted the right to return to the world of the living so they could organize a proper burial for themselves, when suddenly he was met with the sight of a nervous looking Megaera, biting her long nails as she waited for him to notice her presence.  
Raising his head in the most regal manner the king of the Underworld could accomplish, Hades allowed a beat of slience to fall between them before he decided he would apparently have to be the first one to speak.  
"Megaera, May I be graced with the reason you are watching me as if I have a sword hanging over my head?"  
The fury inhaled a sharp breath before replying. "My lord, I....I have something to tell you."

  
**_Unlikely_ **

  
"Hey, please wake up."  
Damon's yellow eyes snapped open as he heard the familiar voice of Persephone softly whispering to him. Though it was most likely only a few minutes that he was unconscious, the gorgon boy felt as if he had been sleeping for at least a century. He felt...better. His eyes finally felt like they had run out of liquid to spill and he felt a lot more alert. Even his snakes seemed to have calmed down tremendously. Taking a moment to let out a loud yawn the boy was quick to lift his head and shift around on the comfortable bedding below him.  
Once he was upright, the gorgon boy was immediately met with the sight Persephone gazing down at him. She was still adorning her vomit covered dress, though her long red hair was now tied back and in her left hand was a small glass bottle that appeared to be holding some kind of purple liquid.  
Confusion filled the boy's mind for a few moments before he was suddenly broken from his thoughts when Persephone spoke once more.  
"Hey, don't worry you'll be able to rest plenty, once we get you cleaned up." With that, the red haired maiden once again lifted Damon up with her free arm. This elicited a startled yelp from the boy whilst his snakes once more tried their best to retaliate by sinking their fangs into Persephone's right arm. Predictably this did nothing more than cause an exasperated sigh to escape from the woman's lips.

  
The gorgon boy panicked as he wondered what she meant by 'cleaned up' up, however he didn't have to ponder on that for long because in the next few moments, Damon found himself occupied with being carried away, out to the grand part of the large room that he had not been able to catch a glimpse of earlier.  
Upon witnessing the sight before them Damon could not help ,but gasp in awe.  
There in front of the two was a narrow sparkling waterfall that appeared to be raining down from the palace's seemingly endless ceiling all the way into a ginormous hole in the floor, that greatly resembled a pond Damon had seen before at a random village one time. He wished he could have gotten the chance to jump in before..........  
'No!' Damon mentally slapped himself. 'Don't think of that, it wasn't- Just don't think about it!'  
There was no indication as to where exactly the vast amount of crystal blue water was coming from all that was clear was where it was going, for at the end of the huge pool it appeared the liquid was all flowing in the same direction, towards five different holes in the wall that would no doubt separate the mass amount of water into five different streams on the other side.  
"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

  
The gorgon boy spun around in Persephone's arms as she addressed him. Looking up at her, Damon found himself nervously nodding in agreement.  
The red haired maiden chuckled in response. "Well, best we get in quickly, so we can get this," Persephone gestured to her bile stained dress. "off"  
With that the hazel eyed woman began making her way around the edge of the pool towards what appeared the shallow end where a small stair case that steadily declined into the water stood against the wall.  
It was at this point the gorgon boy began to register the words she had spoken. Immediately the gorgon child felt his heart rate begin to pick up, as his breathing quickly became more and more ragged with each passing second. While the pool was not especially large, it was much more deep than any body of water Damon had ever seen before, that and the fact he didn't know how to swim, made the small gorgon child feel all the more intimated.  
With all these factors in mind, it was only a matter of time before Damon began to struggle once more in Persephone's hold.  
Noticing this, the red haired maiden quickly adjusted the boy in her arm, before addressing him. "What's the matter?"

  
"Hissssssss."

  
Damon watched as Persephone frowned before attempting to make eye contact with the many pairs of irises pointed at her. "I believe I was talking to Damon, not you." Turning her attention back on said boy, the hazel eyed woman spoke again. "It's okay, you can tell me what it is."  
Upon being met with the kind look she was giving him, and the fact that the red haired maiden failed to show any hostility towards him thus far, Damon swallowed before working up the courage to quietly reply with.

  
"I-I,......I'm s-sorry. I-I just......I...It looks deep, and.....I..I can't... go in....I might.....drown."  
"Oh." Came Persephone's surprised response. After a beat of silence realization seemed to dawn on her. "Oh. Ohhhhh I'm so sorry" She apologized. "I didn't mean to frighten you, do you not know how to swim?"Forgetting any pride he might have possessed beyond this point Damon replied with a curt nod.

  
"Alright well," The red haired maiden paused to grasp the boy's small hand in her own. "How about this, you have my word I'll make absolute sure that you do not drown, and believe me when I tell you my word is my bond." Staring into Persephone's hazel irises, Damon found himself believing her. "Do you think you can trust me?" She asked.  
The gorgon boy pondered on that query for all of five seconds before he suddenly found himself nodding in affirmation. He wasn't sure why he did it, but something inside him told him that if he could trust anyone, this woman was it. Still the fear inside him lingered like a disease.  
"Well alright then," The hazel eyed woman responded. "Then let's get to it."

  
Persephone then wasted no time in making her way down the pool's steps until she was waist deep in the sparkling blue water. Despite her promise stilling ringing in the back of his mind, Damon couldn't help himself from raising his small legs up as the water came close to touching his feet. This was probably due to the fact his snakes began to panic once more and hiss frantically as they waved about like they were being burned alive. Persephone didn't appear to notice though, because she soon occupied herself with walking up to one of the pool's edges and setting down her glass bottle.

  
After that was done Persephone turned her attention back to the snake haired child she was holding.  
"I'm going to begin lowering you in. Are you alright with that? I promise to not to let you go." As she spoke Persephone adjusted her grip on him so that she was grasping the under side of both of his skinny arms.

  
Damon quickly nodded despite his snakes' shrill protest and his own nervous anticipation.  
"Very well then." With that Persephone kept true to her word and steadily lowered the boy into the water without releasing her hold on him. The second the liquid touched his small feet Damon couldn't help ,but shiver. The water felt cold around his thin body as he was slowly submerged in it until he was shoulder deep in the crystal clear blue liquid.

  
"Hissssss!"

  
Without realizing it, Damon, in his apprehensive state had begun to anxiously clench his tiny hands around Persephone's thin, but sturdy arms.  
The red haired maiden had apparently taken notice and let out a sympathetic sigh as she said, "Hey, Hey, it's okay. You're doing great. Now I'm going to remove one of my arms, but don't worry I've still got you."  
Before Damon could process those words, he suddenly found himself lacking the support of Persephone's right arm and he was left clinging to her other limb, as the hazel eyed woman took this moment to grab her glass bottle and pop the cork off.  
Once that was done, the red haired maiden poured out the purple liquid inside and let it fall into the water. As soon as the two fluids touched, strange white spheres began to form and spread amongst the small ripples made by the impact.  
As they began to float toward Damon, he couldn't help but cower slightly for he had never seen anything like them before. His snakes apparently shared the same opinion for they began to hiss even louder as the white spheres came closer and closer.

  
Suddenly Persephone spoke once again as she miserably failed to hide the soft chuckle that escaped her lips. "Don't be frightened, they won't bite."  
To demonstrate this the red haired maiden took the opportunity to place her free right hand around a particularly large sphere and in a surprising turn of events (at least for Damon) the sphere erupted and then disappeared leaving only a fleeting explosion of purple liquid in its wake.  
"See, this is called soap. We use it clean ourselves."  
Damon's eyes widened and then, ignoring his snakes' protests, copied Persephone's example and poked his own large white sphere and sure enough the results were near identical.

  
Once the red haired maiden managed to recover from the enormous laughter that kept spilling from her, at Damon's innocent display, she quickly grasped a handful of 'soap' in her right palm. Then with little preamble began to lather it all over her body and even on her dress. As she effortlessly rubbed the substance into the lavender fabric the stains caused by Damon's earlier spout, began to slowly fade away as did the rest of his vomit that had landed on her person.  
The gorgon boy bit his lip as he looked down at the soap surrounding him. So was he supposed to do that too?  
Nervously grasping his own handful of soap, Damon couldn't stop himself from looking back at Persephone hoping to catch her eye so she could offer him guidance. Upon seeing the boy's hesitance, the red haired goddess, simply snickered and said. "Go on. How else is it supposed to get you clean?"  
With the hazel eyed woman's confirmation Damon began to rub the soap onto himself.  
It felt strange....,but not awful. The soap felt nice against the vomit caked skin of his shoulders and chest. As Damon began to scrub himself down with more and more soap he began to feel the crusted bits of his bile peel away from not only his pale skin ,but his raggedy clothing as well.

After a few moments, all the boy had left was his face, which was still adorning not only bits of crusted puke, but plenty of dirt and grime that had managed to gather there over the years.  
Raising two handfuls of soap Damon began to scrub his face.....................or at least he tried to, for as soon as his soap covered palm came within an inch of his features, Damon's snakes began to make their objection known.  
"HISSSSS!!!!!"  
As their familiar shrill declaration rang out in the large room like a siren, Damon's snakes decided to take their aggression to the next level and attack his offending hands by biting them with ferocious veracity.  
"Ah!" Damon cried dropping his hands back into the water.  
Persephone seeing this, quickly reached her right hand over and grasped Damon's 'hair' in a very similar fashion as the one she had to put them in before.  
Looking Damon's snakes in their many pairs of eyes the red haired maiden spoke to them in a slow intimidating tone. "That, was very uncalled for, If I see you attack the poor boy like that again,....let's just put it this way, you won't like what happens." Making sure every pair of beady serpent eyes were on her Persephone finished her threat by saying. "I hope now we have an understanding."  
The red haired maiden then turned her hazel eyes back on Damon and asked. "Does this hurt you at all?"  
"N-no" Came the gorgon boy's quiet reply.

  
"Good, why don't you go ahead and finish up. I'll hold them off for you." With that Persephone adjusted her grip on him and brought Damon a little closer so as not to strain his scalp.Not wanting to displease the red haired maiden, the yellow eyed boy obeyed and quickly got to scrubbing his face down. Once his face was completely covered in soap, Persephone hummed before suddenly pulling Damon even closer against her and walking away from the pool wall toward the center of the large body of water.  
The gorgon boy couldn't help letting out a startled squeal and clinging to Persephone as tightly with as much as strength as his tiny frame could muster.  
"Don't worry we're almost done, all that's left is rinse off."

  
At first Damon was confused, but he didn't have long to think because before the gorgon child even knew what was happening, Persephone was bending down and lowering them both deeper and deeper into the water. Stopping for just a moment, the hazel eyed woman quickly spoke again. "Okay, can you do me a favor and take a deep breathe and close your eyes." Though confused, Damon still obediently did as he was told. "Thank you okay, one, two,-"  
"HISSSSS!!!!"  
"THREE!"  
Suddenly the gorgon boy found himself plunged beneath the cold water. Feeling the freezing liquid surrounding his face was an experience that felt almost unreal. It was painful ,but thankfully that didn't last for long because out of nowhere he was breathing air again. However before the boy had a chance to realize it, Persephone had said. "Okay we've still got some soap left. One more time."  
"HISSSSSS!" Damon's only warning before he was once again completely submerged beneath the waves.  
After a moment or two the gorgon boy was brought above the water once more. As the gorgon boy spluttered and coughed Persephone smiled sympathetically down at him.  
"I'm sorry I know that happened really fast, but hey at least it's over." With that, Persephone released Damon's 'hair' and wrapped both of her tanned arms around the boy before wading her way through the water back to the pool steps that led to the surface.  
Walking up the staircase, Persephone wasted no time in getting them both out of the cold water. Looking up slightly Damon took this chance to survey his body. The boy's pale skin all ,but shined with cleanliness and the underside of his finger and toe nails were significantly lacking in dirt for once.  
A strange feeling of pride began to swell within the snake haired child and he couldn't help a small smile from gracing his now soft feeling features.  
After a couple minutes of silence (save for Persephone's hurried footsteps and Damon's ever present rowdy snakes) the red haired maiden took them to back to the bedding she had previously allowed Damon to occupy. Setting the boy on his feet, Persephone quickly bent down to pull out a basket from underneath a near by stone shelf.  
The hazel eyed woman took out two pieces of fabric, one appeared to be a plain white shirt that looked like it was at least twice the size of Damon while the other was a simple large blue towel

.  
Without any preamble Persephone hastily piled the items onto Damon's unsuspecting arms.  
"Alright, I'm going to let you dry off and get changed. I'm sure you wouldn't want to stay in those wet clothes, just fold your clothes and leave them by the bed. Hopefully by the time you need to leave this world they'll be dry." With that the red haired maiden stood back up and began to make her exit. "I'll be back soon. Can I have your word that you'll stay out and not run off?"  
Damon nodded his head in response, hopping the hazel eyed woman could see the gesture through the mountain of fabric blocking his head from view apparently not because Persephone didn't seem satisfied when she spoke again. "I'm sorry ,but I'm going to have to ask for verbal confirmation this time. Can you do that?"  
The gorgon boy almost nodded again out of habit ,but thankfully he was able to stop that embarrassing display from taking place.  
"Y-yeah. I promise n-not to run off. I'll s-stay right here."  
Smiling in reply Persephone said. "Thank you. I'm very sorry you've had a less than kind welcome to this world ,but hopefully we'll be able to get you back to the mortal world as soon as possible. I'm sure your parents are worried sick about you."

  
With that the red haired maiden quickly retreated out of sight,.....and Damon was actually his face was covered, because he didn't think he could handle her seeing the fresh tears that had begun to emerge from his pupils as soon as those words left her mouth.  
'stupid,stupid,stupidSTUPIDSTUPIDSTUPID!!'Damon mentally yelled at himself. 'WHY DO YOU CRY SO MUCH STOP IT STOP IT STOP STOP IT!'  
The mantra in his head began to rise in volume so much to the point Damon could no longer register the world around him as he slowly sunk to his knees and the fabric in his arms fell unceremoniously to the floor.

  
Pressing his chin against his chest Damon, tried with all his might to clench the stubborn tears that continued to leak out his eyes.  
"C'mon....stop.....stop crying..." Whispered the gorgon boy as he numbly began to take of his wet raggedy shirt before drying himself off with the blue towl and putting on the much more comfortable white shirt that Persephone gave him. He was right about it being much larger than he was, but that hardly mattered to the boy. All that he cared about now was burying himself in the soft bedding beside him.

"Hisssss"

  
Damon didn't care how much his snakes whined about it, he had been through more than enough for one day and didn't have the energy to tell them to shut up. Without any preamble the gorgon boy all ,but threw himself face first onto the bedding as if he were a rag doll and promptly fell into a dreamless slumber.

  
**_Unlikely_ **

  
'Well that went better than I expected.' Persephone _humbly_ thought to herself as she quickly adjusted the new green gown she hastily put on hoping it would function as a suitable replacement for her previous outfit.  
Once that was done, the queen of the Underworld hurriedly made her way out of her room and back to the palace's 'wash room' where she left Damon.  
'Please let the boy have kept his promise Please let the boy have kept his promise Please let the boy have kept his promise ' She prayed frantically as she burst through the familiar grand crimson doors. Thankfully upon her return Persephone was met with the sight of a slumbering Damon.

The Spring goddess smiled fondly. 'Aw, he looks so peaceful. Poor boy must be so frightened to be so far away from home, well good thing I happened upon him I can't imagine what state he would be in if he had to stay in that dark,cold-'

The queen of the Underworld was torn from her thoughts, when upon allowing her eyes to stray from Damon's sleeping form, she saw that kneeling right beside him was her loving husband.

Persephone couldn't help ,but let out a startled gasp.  
The Underworld ruler's expression was as blank as always, with his strong yet aged glowing purple eyes staring down aimlessly at the youth sleeping below him. After a beat of silence Hades turned his attention to his shocked wife.

  
"Dear, I believe we have things to discuss."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I need to say this ,but I took ALOT of liberties with this chapter. At least more than the others anyway. For instance the Eritika flower, I completely made that up and to my knowledge it does not exist so please don't think that I'm some kind of freaky botanist I just make stuff up. Also I know I took a lot of liberties with the mythology ,but really that's just what this whole fic is about, so I hope you guys can live with it. Also, also as always criticism if all kinds is more than welcome! See ya next chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stuff Happens XD

  
_In all his four years of living Damon had never seen his mother standing at the entrance tunnel of their cave for so long._

  
_"HISSSSSSSSS"_

  
_As the young boy anxiously watched his mother's back tense whilst her massive serpents began to flail around in frantic, disorganized movements he couldn't stop a timid shiver rom wracking its way up his stout spine._   
_"Mama....is..is everything okay?"_

  
_A moment of silence passed between them before the snake haired woman suddenly seemed to have registered the fact that her son asked her a question. As she turned to face him Damon was almost instantly blindsided by the way her dark green eyes lit up with an emotion he had never seen present in her being before.._   
_"Huh?....Oh, it's okay, there's no need to worry." She whispered kneeling down to his level. "Mama's just.....excited."_   
_"Excited?" His mother had seldom used that word to describe her mood._

_"What for?" A smile bloomed across the snake haired woman's features as she lifted a hand to rest against the boy's pale cheek. The cold feel of her scale covered hands had always left the four year old greatly puzzled. Why was mama's skin so different from his? Weren't they supposed to be the same?_   
_"Well, someone very special,..to mama is about to arrive" Upon hearing that, Damon couldn't stop a small gasp from escaping his lips as his mind whirled in confusion. The boy's reaction seemed to only further amuse the snake haired woman as her smile broadened ever further before she leaned down to plant a small cold kiss upon the soft skin of Damon's forehead much to his chagrin._

  
_"Mama!" He whined as his snakes did little to help him most likely for fear of upsetting their much larger competition._   
_When his mother eventually leaned back with a teasing chuckle Damon couldn't stop himself from laughing a little as well despite his minor embarrassment._   
_Their laughter bounced about the room for a few moments longer before out of nowhere they were interrupted by the sounds of footsteps echoing at the entrance of the cavern._

  
_The two froze for a tense moment before suddenly a hushed whisper escaped his mother's lips "He's here!"_   
_Then before Damon could have so much as a chance to comprehend what was happening his mother abruptly shot to her feet and began darting out the entrance tunnel ,but not before sparing her son an over the shoulder glance silently telling him to stay put._   
_As the gorgon wisely obeyed her orders and sat there watching his mother's retreating form he couldn't stop the familiar feeling of worry wash over him yet again._   
_'What's going on? Why is mama acting so strange?!'_

  
_Mother never talked much about what lied beyond their home. When she did she usually repeated the same mantra of 'it's dangerous' , 'it's a cruel world out there', and never leave the cave', so how.....how could she possibly know someone from the outside world?_

  
_Fortunately though he had little time to sink much further into his anxious mind because his ears were soon graced with the calming sound of his mother's voice yet again._   
_"It's right through here, I..I can't wait for you to see him!" As Damon edged himself closer to the cave's entrance he began to see two dark silhouettes slowly approaching him. Yellow eyes widening, Damon had little time to feel any kind of apprehension before he was abruptly grabbed by his underarms and set to his feet._   
_When the four year old turned to look over his shoulder he saw the perpetrator was his mother who did not hesitate to give him a toothy smile in response to his annoyed grimace._

  
_Damon wanted to poke his tongue out as a form of retaliation ,but his train of thought was promptly derailed when he suddenly heard the unmistakable sound of breathing being exhaled, in front of him._ _Despite himself, the four year old couldn't stop his small body from freezing up upon the realization. Fortunately though, his mother was quick to action, by using that moment as an opportunity to gently turn his head so that he was facing straight forward._

  
_The sight Damon was met with was not one he could have expected in a hundred years._

  
_In front of him stood what appeared to be a pair of feet, that much like his own were very pale though that was were the similarities ended for not only were the feet quadruple his size, but they also adorned a much nicer pair of sandals that unlike his own, were completely intact with no cut rope to be found anywhere._   
_For a moment all Damon could muster the courage to do was study the intricate designs of the shoes as his small body began to perspire against his will._   
_He might have stayed like that forever were it not for his mother once again intervening this time by tilting his head upwards._

  
_As his gaze was forced to move, Damon saw that there was indeed a body- a man's body by the look of it-attached the strange pair of legs. It matched it's muscular lower half in just about every aspect. Damon might have had the sense to look away were it not for the presence of his mother's hand , stubbornly keeping his gaze on the upward path._   
_His gaze was lifted higher and higher until finally Damon was utterly dumbstruck as he stared into the brightest pair of blue eyes he had ever seen. (not that he'd ever seen a pair of eyes that had not belonged to his mother)_

  
_For a moment the boy could only stand there in stunned silence with his mouth agape until eventually he managed to tear his gaze away from the visitor's pale blue eyes._   
_Upon doing so though, Damon was soon captivated by another aspect of the visitor's appearance._   
_The stranger's head had no snakes. Not a single one._

  
_Damon was quick to make his confusion known. "Mama what's wrong with his head?"_

  
_As soon as the question passed his lips Damon regretted asking because the visitor, whoever he was, immediately jerked himself out of whatever trance had kept him still. With wide eyes and a heavily beating heart, Damon nervously watched as the stranger braced an arm against one of the cave's wall before swinging the other out in front of them like they were searching for something._   
_"L-love? Was that....was that him? Was that Damon?"_   
_Damon couldn't help cowering slightly upon hearing the visitor's strong, timbered voice as his mind spun with bewilderment. How did the stranger know his name? Did mother tell him? And who was in love?!"_   
_Once again though Damon had little time to think because before he realized it, his body was suddenly lifted from the ground by his mother and presented to the stranger like a sacrifice._

  
_"Hissssss" For once Damon agreed with his snakes._   
_Despite the scaly hand reassuringly gripping his, the gorgon boy couldn't stop himself from shooting his mother a look of terrified betrayal which she of course ignored in favor of saying,_

  
_"Yes Theron," Theron? Was that his name? Apparently it was by the way the visitor reacted upon hearing it "This is him." With that the gorgon woman took a step closer and with great effort managed to squelch her son's protests as she pushed Damon into the confused man's calloused hands._   
_As his mother's hand slowly fell away and he was left trembling in the man's hold Damon knew he had no choice but to clutch onto the visitor's arms for dear life._   
_In response the man let out a surprised yelp as he stumbled backwards slightly ,but still managed to keep a firm hold on the ground._   
_"A-am I holding him?" For some strange reason the man almost seemed just as nervous._   
_"Yes, yes you are." Mama answered without hesitation, the smile on her features- if possible- managed to broaden even further. "You're holding your son."_

_**Unlikely** _

  
"Dear, I believe we have things to discuss."

  
Persephone was unaware how long the stilled silence between her and her husband lasted ,but she had to assume it was too long because soon enough before she even realized it, her -not quite silver as much bronze- tongue began to take action.

  
"Oh? Now don't keep a maiden in suspense dear, please elaborate." If the Spring goddess considered herself especially perceptive she might have believed she saw a flicker of exasperation reflected in her lover's stoic purple irises.

  
"Well to start, I would very much appreciate it if you could explain to me why you told Megaera it was okay to defy my orders?"  
Persephone strained to resist the urge to roll her hazel eyes. She felt like she was being interrogated for some crime that would send any regular mortal soul to Tartarus. Her irritation was hard to hide as she replied.

  
"Husband, you know I hold nothing but respect for you, however I must admit that I fail to see the reasoning behind locking a poor confused child alone in a dark room without so much as telling me. So you'll have to excuse me for defying your orders."  
The Spring goddess never particularly enjoyed partaking in verbal quarrels ,but let it be known when in the midst of one, she was rarely unprepared.  
As Persephone allowed her thin yet defined arms to gracefully cross over her chest in a vain attempt at cementing victory, she noticed Hades' violet eyes roaming Damon's sleeping form.

  
For a moment the Spring goddess feared he may try to wake the child ,but her worries were soon disproven when the ruler of the Underworld merely turned his attention back towards her once again.

  
" Persephone I needed to act cautiously ,the boy managed to sneak into our kingdom of all places." He explained without so much as a hint of dishonesty. "At least that's what I was told from Megaera and Alecto." Hades finished with a sigh.  
Without realizing it Persephone had begun to nod her head in agreement.

"That's what Damon told me as well, according to him my trail led him here-"  
"Wait," Hades gently interrupted "Your trail?"

  
The Spring goddess felt the rate of her immortal heart beat increase as she realized that perhaps that was not the best topic to bring up at the moment. "I...I...don't worry dear we'll discuss that later." 

  
'After all we're focused on how you're the bad guy here.' 

  
Still Persephone couldn't help but feel a small twinge of guilt for not at least consulting her husband before she randomly ventured down that dreaded passageway however that feeling was soon shoved aside when she felt a wave of anger wash over her at the remembrance of the frightened expression Damon wore when she first released him as she quietly made her way to Damon's bedside before kneeling down and gently letting her hand stroke his reptilian locks. "Poor boy was a frightened mess, in fact I don't believe he even knew where he was." She sighed.

  
Despite herself, the queen of the Underworld couldn't stop a quick side eye glance at Hades as she continued to pet Damon's sleeping 'hair'.  
No matter what any mortal/ immortal soul believed, Persephone had never once doubted that her husband did in fact have a heart and times like this when he allowed his stony features to sag just slightly as his eyes glazed over with what could only be described as pity always seemed to prove her right.

  
After the ruler of the Underworld allowed himself a small sigh he began to slowly nod in agreement.  
"Perhaps I did act too rash-" Before Hades could finish his concession he was suddenly interrupted by the sound of Persephone silencing him.  
When a confused and perhaps even offended look was sent her way, Persephone explained herself with three words.

  
"He's waking up."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys sorry this took so long. Also I feel like I should go ahead and tell y'all that Damon's father, Theron is my OC. I picked the name Theron off of a list of Greek names I looked up on the internet. If there is a famous Theron in Greek Mythology that I am unaware of, I should let you all know that this is NOT the same guy. He's just my O.C. Well thank you all for reading and being so patient with me. See ya next chapter!


	8. HIATUS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry guys

Hey everyone. I am so sorry to be making this announcement ,but I do honestly feel like this is the best thing to do. I am officially putting this story on hiatus. I just don’t have the passion to continue this story right now and as for the future I don’t know if I will or not. In the meantime I just honestly feel like this is the best thing to do. I don’t want to have to force myself to write for a story that as of this moment I don’t feel inspiration for. Again I am so sorry. I appreciated all the support this story got and am very thankful for it ,but at the end of the day I don’t think me making myself write for it would result in good chapters at all. Thank you again to all of you who read and supported this story though, if I had the honest drive to continue writing for this story I would ,but I just don’t and again I’m very sorry for that


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